When will analog TV be turned off in my area?

The day is slowly approaching when analog free-to-air terrestrial TV broadcasts will become a faint memory, like Betamax and Bakelite. The question is: when will the TV stations in your home town switch off their analog transmissions and become digital only?

The day is slowly approaching when analog free-to-air terrestrial TV broadcasts will become a faint memory, like Betamax and Bakelite. The question is: when will the TV stations in your home town switch off their analog transmissions and become digital only?

So far, the switchover has been limited to regional areas of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, with capital cities as yet unaffected. The process culminates on New Year's Day 2014, when Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide will finally join the rest of Australia in the digital-only era.

Government help

With TV prices seemingly falling by the day, and many digital set-top boxes costing less than the price of a Sydney parking fine, switching over to digital TV is a fairly inexpensive process. The Federal Government does offer assistance, though, in the form of an HD set-top box, some guidance and a year-long warranty, as well as antenna installation or modification.

The scheme, however, is only available to those who are receiving the age pension, disability-support pension, carer payment, Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) support pension or DVA income-support supplement. For more information, check out the government's info on the Household Assistance Scheme.